Through a child's eyes
by rnarvcl
Summary: There's a little girl at the precinct. There's a little girl at the precinct, and her father whom she loves just so happens to be 3XK.
1. Chapter 1

"There's a child here, at the precinct." It was Gates, standing at the door of their bullpen. Kate and her team turned to look at her.

"A kid?" Castle echoed.

"Yes a kid."

Now, children at the precinct were not unheard of. Witnesses who brought their kids along often let them wander off and do their own stuff, trusting that a building full of officers will keep their offspring safe. Officers and detectives themselves often had their brought their kids back too, after picking them up from school and realizing that they had a little more work to do but no one to take care of them.

In fact, there was a little playpen on the first floor just for occasions like these. Nobody needed the innocent children wandering about to bump into some slimy suspect or, even worse, wander into the morgue.

"So? There are children here all the damn time." It was Esposito, looking increasingly annoyed. They had just wrapped up their latest case only a few minutes ago and it had been a long and tiring one. Serial killers were painful to catch.

"What's_ strange_ is that we have no idea who the kid is. There are no witnesses or suspects, or even officers with kids in here right now.

And nobody even realized the kid was in here until she rode the elevator all the way up here!"

Gates looked exasperated.

"Okay…" Beckett said, slowly. "What does that have to do with us?"

"_Because, _the kid refuses to tell me who she is, or why she's here, or _anything _of that sort. She just gave me this. Apparently, her mother gave her the list and told her to only speak to people whose names were on it."

She held out said piece of paper. The three detectives and writer crowded around, looking at it.

There were four names, written neatly. Definitely not the handwriting of a child. The curled and slightly written handwriting seemed vaguely familiar to Beckett, but she didn't dwell on it.

_Dear,_

_Mister Richard Castle_

_Detective Kate Beckett_

_Detective Javier Esposito _

_Detective Kevin Ryan_

_Take care of this child. If you are anyone other than these people, please do bring her over to the 12th precinct. _

"Why would a kid be looking for all of us?" Ryan asked, rather uselessly.

"Sir, where is she?"

"In my office, I'll bring her over."

A few moments later, Gates appeared again, kid in tow. "Here," she said, gently. "The people you were looking for."

The young girl- who looked about eight or nine slowly approached Beckett. She looked tired, hungry, and her long brown hair was in a mess. Her eyes- they seemed familiar, but Beckett couldn't remember exactly where she had seen them before.

She kneeled down, meeting the girl's eyes. "Hello, I'm Detective Kate Beckett. Were you looking for me?"

The girl nodded. "Mommy said that- that if she doesn't come home I should come here and look for you." She sniffled. "Mommy and Daddy haven't come home in three days and I'm-I'm scared."

Castle placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Beckett let him handle the situation for now. After all, if there was anyone in the room good with kids, it was him.

"Hey, don't cry, we'll find your mommy and daddy. Promise." He held out his pinkie finger, which the girl hooked her own around, gratefully. "But first, you have to help us. Can you tell us your name, and your parents' name?"

"My name is ..Helen. Mommy's name is Kelly Nieman…Daddy is Jerry Tyson." She frowned. "Can you help me find them?"

Castle smiled, not missing a beat. No point letting his internal panic show and scaring the kid even more. "Of course. Why don't we get a snack? There's a vending machine over there, you can choose whatever you want."

Helen nodded and let Richard guide her out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Are- she's 3XK's <em>daughter<em>?"

"Seems so, sir. And, she does resemble her…parents… quite a bit." Referring to the serial killer and his alleged accomplice as parents made her sick, sick to her stomach. Parents were supposed to be kind, loving people. Not a couple of sociopathic _murders_.

"Okay, so even if she _is _their daughter, why would Niemann tell her to look for _us _of all people?" Kevin just sounded tired.

"Who knows bro. Maybe they're on the run, and leaving their daughter to police officers were their best bet?"

"But that means that they _care. _Are those people even capable of such a thing?"

Esposito just shrugged. The entire situation was just too bizarre.

"Okay, let's just wait for Castle to come back. Hopefully after Helen is calmed down and in better shape we can ask her a few more questions." Kate sat down on her table, ignoring the pile of paperwork in favour of opening up the files containing information on the look-alike case they dealt with not too long ago. Everything else had been stolen, and sadly, this was the only thing containing even the barest bit on information on 3XK.

"Detectives, you _do _realize that this means that Tyson is still alive? Even after shooting him and throwing him off the bridge?"

"Well apparently, chopping his head off is the only to kill him," Kevin grunted. "Maybe not even that."

It was then that Richard came back with the young girl. She held the promised bag of snacks in one hand and a drink in the other, looking happier and content than she had just moments ago. Castle sat her down on a desk furthest away from where the detectives were huddling handed her a piece of paper and a pen. He then headed over.

"So…"

"So yes, the daughter of the infamous 3XK. And this," Richard handed them a picture. "Helen gave this to me. It proves a lot of things, as you can see."

Kate felt herself shivering as she looked at the picture. It was the kind of pictures you took at photo booths- dorky pictures with your friends and family printed in little sets of four.

This certain set of pictures had Helen, Niemann and Tyson posing in them, happily smiling at the camera, making peace signs and hugging each other. They looked normal. They looked happy. They looked like the most perfect little family.

And the timestamp showed that the picture was taken just two weeks ago.

"Looks like Jerry Tyson is indeed alive." Gates tactfully decided not to comment on the nature of the pictures. "From now on, I'm giving you the task of catching him-again. And until this.._mess _is sorted out, taking care of the child." She gave the team a steely look. Will that be okay with you, detectives?"

They nodded.

"And the kid…."

"Uh, me and Beckett will take care of her. For the time being. Once we settle things with the social services and all those people."

"Good. Now, I must be going." With that, she left.

Helen slipped out of her chair and ran over to Castle as soon as Gates left. "Look, Mr Castle, I drew me and Mommy and Daddy all together!" She was holding a drawing of three stick figures, holding hands and sporting big smiles. Ryan and Esposito gave Castle strange matching looks.

"That's lovely dear. I tell you what, why don't you come back home with me and Detective Beckett? We can have dinner there, and you can spend the night."

Helen nodded. "Okay!"

She pattered off, presumably to finish her food that she had left on the desk. Castle let out a soft sigh. "She's really tired now- it's better to let her rest before we ask her anything. We'll bring her back to the precinct tomorrow and then we can start on this case properly-okay? You all get home and have a good rest. The next few weeks-"

"Are going to be hell." Beckett finished for him.

* * *

><p>Okay-first of all, I'm sorry for completely throwing standard police protocols out of the window.<p>

I felt that the idea of 3XK having a family or someone he trully cared about was really interesting, and I was so excited when Kelly was introduced. Yes I know its not possible and together with the "happy family" thing I'm totally ruining his character. Forgive me.

My tumblr: lexie-axe


	2. Chapter 2

Beckett woke up, feeling decidedly wrong. She racked her brains to try and remember what she was forgetting. _Castle's still alive, so is Ryan and Esposito and Gates and Tyson and…_

Oh.

Tyson was still alive.

And his daughter was living with them.

Last night had been okay. Both Martha and Alexis was out of town, and they had all settled down for a peaceful dinner. Helen wasn't the most talkative child, but she definitely had a huge appetite.

Or maybe it was because she hadn't had proper food for three days.

After dinner, Castle had run her a quick bath and handed her some of Alexis' old clothes. They had promptly gone to sleep after that.

Beckett let out a groan, getting up. Right, she had to bring Helen back to the precinct today, try and get a lead on Tyson and Niemann, possibly ruin the girl's childhood…

Yep. She had a great day ahead of her.

Castle wasn't in bed when she had woken up. Which wasn't unusual; he often got up early in the mornings (or late, late into the nights) to get some writing down, pace around the house a bit, make breakfast…

Today though, the sound of the Barney theme song could be heard from the living room. It made Beckett smile ever so slightly.

Alexis was sitting on the sofa with Helen, singing along to the purple dinosaur on tv with her. Castle was in the kitchen flipping pancakes and humming…something.

"Hey."

"Good morning to you too, lovely." He handed Beckett a plate, piled with freshly backed pancakes and fruits. Just the way she liked it. "And the first batch of the day…to you m'lady."

Beckett had to laugh at his antics. "How's Helen?"

"Great. For now. Apparently she shares Alexis' love of-" he turned to look at the television set. "Singing purple monstrosities."

"Huh." She took a huge bite of her breakfast, attempting to fight the sense of impending doom. "Does Alexis…"

"Yes. She knows."

She observed the pair on the couch. Alexis was attempting to braid Helens hair. "She seems to be handling it pretty well. Better than me anyway."

"Well…it's not like it's her fault. We can't exactly help who our parents are."

"Doesn't it feel weird?"

"What?" Castle dumped the pancakes on two more plates and proceeded to pour chocolate syrup all over them.

"Tyson having a daughter."

"Of course it does. In fact, it's probably the weirdest thing I could possibly imagine." He gestured towards the duo."And the fact that Helen jus adores her parents…"

"Just means that they were _good _parents. Wow. Imagine that."

"Except for leaving her alone without any notice whatsoever part."

"Yeah."

"Do you think Helen goes to school?"

"No, I don't." It was Helen, attempting to climb onto one of the stools. Alexis helped her up.

Castle gave them their plates and looked at Beckett, silently asking for permission. She gave a subtle nod.

"So Helen, if you don't go to school, what do you normally do all day?"

"Erm…I stay at home with daddy. Mommy has to go work. She says that school..erm..stifles creativity or something." She took a big bite out of her pancakes, chewing thoughtfully.

"Daddy and mommy buys me a lot of books, so I normally read those. And daddy gives me little projects to do, so I do those too."

"What kind of projects?" Becket asked. _Please no dead people please no ropes please no knives please-_

"Different kinds of things? Last week, we made the solar system together." She looked down sadly. "We were supposed to make a paper dress this week, and daddy promised to buy me a new book, to read."

Beckett placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Alexis was staring at Helen, tight lipped. "What else do you do all day?"

"I watch tv and play games…sometimes I go to the park. But it's always in the morning, or late at night with mommy so no one's around….my parents say that I shouldn't hang around with other kids."

Kate nodded her head. Castle brewed a cup of coffee.

They prepared to go to the precinct.

"So..the kid's homeschooled?" Esposito asked.

Helen was doodling on a piece of paper again. It gave her something to do, and Castle said something about how kids drew emotions and how it was going to be helpful to the case and whatnot.

"Well something like that." Honestly, the thought of Tyson doing something like _teaching _made Kate cringe. Goodness knows what ideas he planted in Helen's head. "We're going to Tyson's apartment next, after we get all the paperwork done to re-build a case against him. Castle managed to get the address from Helen this morning."

"Great. That ought to be interesting." Ryan was printing out Tyson's prison records, along with whatever they could find on Niemann. "So, how's the kid so far."

"Normal, surprisingly, other than being too smart for her own good."

"Did you ask what kind of books Tyson was giving her to read?"

"She said something about Harry Potter, fairy tales and you know, the classic books all kids read?"

"Unless he gave her the _original _versions." Ryan turns his chair to face Helen. "Hey, Helen, let me ask you a question. What did Cinderella's stepsisters do when they realized their feet couldn't fit into the glass slipper." He enquires, cheerily.

"Erm, the book I have said that they gave up. But one time I went to the library and there was this other Cinderella book, and I think it said that they cut off their toes!" She makes a face. "Icky."

"…does your parents know you read this book?" It's Castle this time.

"Yep. Daddy found out, and scolded me. He said that I shouldn't be reading all this stuff."

The adults in the room shared a look. Helen happily went back to drawing.

"Anyways, parenting issues aside, I think we've got everything." Ryan, hold up a file, too thin for someone who's guilty of several counts of murder. "Everything we can get, that is. Let's go."

Beckett got up. Ryan's right, this ought to be interesting indeed.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!<p>

Sorry if the writing is not up to your standards. The story is as unplanned as it can get, and I haven't had time to edit So yeah, there will probably be alot of inconsistencies.

My tumblr: lexie-axe


	3. Chapter 3

The apartment was located on the outskirts of the city. It was far from where Niemann used to work, and even further from the precinct. The building itself was old, crumbling, looked better fit for hosting a fighting ring than a family. The lift was another story altogether- half the buttons barely working and doors that didn't quite close shut.

The team wisely decided to take the stairs.

It was the kind of buildings Beckett was too used to, back when she was in Vice. More often than not drug dealings, gambling, and other such activities were carried out in the empty units of such places. The thought of raising a child here made her shiver.

Beckett made a mental reminder to ask Helen exactly how she got to the precinct. Right now, they had more pressing matters at hand.

Their unit was on the very last floor, all the way at the top. Beckett noted that it was the only unit of the floor that was currently being rented- there were no other tenants on that entire floor.

Helen and Castle was still in the car, as a safety precaution, when Beckett, along with Esposito and Ryan barged through the door.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear here too!"

Lowering her gun, Beckett studied the apartment. He gestured at Esposito, telling him to call Castle and bring Helen up.

The place was pretty average. It was obviously renovated and cleaned up-the walls were painted and smelled of lemon and honey, a sharp contrast to the musty, sickening smell outside.

There was distinct lack of any personal pictures. There were, however, two huge shelf absolutely filled with books, medical reports, and various magazine and newspaper clippings.

Apparently the family liked to read.

The living room was pretty standard-couch, television, dining table.

Helen entered the apartment not long after. "Did you find them? My parents?"

Beckett shook her head. "No, but we're looking. Do you think you could show us around your house?"

A nod. "Erm, that's my room," she pointed to a door with a bored carved with her name attached to it. "That's my parents' room and that is daddy's work room. I'm not allowed to go in there and he always keeps it locked."

"Why don't you take Detective Ryan with you to your room? Go pack up some of your things to bring back with you."

"Does this mean I'm staying with you for a long time? If mommy and daddy…"

The small voice absolutely broke Kate's heart.

When they opened the door to Tyson's "work room" they were pretty much expecting everything and anything.

But somehow, see the single, lone USB drive on the ground, obviously placed there for them to find in the otherwise empty room still managed to surprise them.

Beckett picked up the drive. It gave her a sense of déjà vu, of the time she and Castle found something similar in the pen.

It had been a shock, hearing the song. Hearing the proof of Tyson's status as a living person through the music. Hadn't he done enough?

Ryan still hadn't forgiven himself for losing his gun, for getting the young girl killed. And the man had the guts to imprison her boyfriend after that.

And when they finally, _finally _thought they killed him he just had to come back, violate her best friend, scare her fellow detective.

It was all too much.

And yet, through all that the fact that they were raising _a child, an innocent child _and letting her believe that they cared about her, that they loved her…

Because they didn't really care about Helen, right?

They were killers.

Murderers.

Psychopaths.

They had no regard for the value of human life.

So why…

"You okay there?" It was Castle, asking with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah. Ah, let's go check out the other rooms."

The rest of the house, just like the living room was pretty normal. There weren't any suspicious equipment in the kitchen, no head in the fridge, nor were there any blood underneath the mats. Castle almost looked dismayed.

Almost. There was relief in his eyes too, Beckett could see that. Relief that Helen didn't see anything she shouldn't have seen.

"Hey. Helen's gotten all her stuff. We'll get CSU to dust and pack the entire place." It might not have been a crime scene, but there was enough evidence to strip and turn the entire place upside down. Jerry Tyson was a person on interest. Very _intense _interest.

"Okay Ryan. You okay, Helen?"

"Yep. Do I really have to bring _all _the stuff? Isn't mommy and daddy going to come back soon?"

Ryan leans down, shifting the bags full of Helen's clothes and books around. "There's no telling, but better to get all your stuff right? In fact, you might be moving soon."

Helen looked a little apprehensive, but didn't say anything.

"Let's get back to the precinct. I'm sure after a good lunch, we can all work together and, erm, find Helen's parents."

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, at most. They mostly lounged around, reading and re-reading the file, tip-toeing around Helen and waiting for CSU to come back with something (even though they all knew it would take a day at least.) It was only after Alexis volunteered to bring Helen back to the loft and take care of her for the rest of the evening that they finally decided to see what was on the drive.

Three detectives, a writer and their captain huddled around the screen. Ryan plugged in the USB.

Beckett sincerely hopped it wasn't another song.

Whatever it was though, they all knew that it won't bring them any closer to capturing Tyson. He wasn't one to leave clues lying around like that.

The most that they could hope for was that it contained _something _about Helen. Anything. Truth be told, the fact of who her parents were weren't enough to do anything. She had no social security number, no records, she might as well not have existed.

Not that anyone was expecting her to have all these.

Ryan opened the folder up. There was a single file on it, a video. On the thumbnail, a picture of Tyson could be seen.

Ryan clicked, and they all held their breaths.

* * *

><p>I was listening to Panic! At the Disco the entire time I was writing this and accidentally typed in some of the lyrics (._.<p>

Thanks for reading as always, and do drop a review. On a not so separate note, I'm looking for a beta (nothing major, just for grammar or situational mistakes.) Any takers?

My tumblr- lexie-axe


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